The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Passive inflatable restraint systems are often used in a variety of applications, such as in motor vehicles. Certain types of passive inflatable restraint systems minimize occupant injuries by using a pyrotechnic gas generant to inflate an airbag cushion (gas initiators and/or inflators) or to actuate a seatbelt tensioner (micro gas generators), for example.
Improvements in gas generant performance remain desirable. Tailoring the performance of the gas generant in an inflatable device system, such as an airbag, can require a complex design of not only the gas generant, but also hardware systems that control gas flow.
Often current gas generants require dry mixing of two or three loose pyrotechnic materials or different shapes of pyrotechnics (discs or multiple-perforation grains and the like) to achieve unique output characteristics for state of the art automotive initiators and micro gas generators. Moreover, loose materials may classify or separate leading to variable burn characteristics.
It would be desirable to eliminate or reduce the need for dry mixing of multiple loose pyrotechnic materials and/or different shaped pyrotechnic materials to achieve unique and desirable output characteristics (tailored or tunable rates) for state of the art automotive initiators and micro gas generators. For example, it would be highly desirable to design an initiator or micro gas generator having a controlled onset or altered burn time, including tailoring the burn profile of the gas generant to have a sustained output with a slower or more progressive burn rate or characteristic as compared with conventional gas generant grains, thereby reducing variability, improving safety and handling, and increasing performance capabilities of pyrotechnic materials.